USA topples Negaunee to advance to title game

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, March 17, 2005

But Unionville-Sebewaing Area coach Mark Gainforth still wasn't going to celebrate until the final buzzer sounded here Thursday afternoon in this Class C state semifinal showdown with Negaunee.

"There's always suspense on the sidelines  no matter what the score is," said Gainforth, whose team advanced to its first-ever state title game with a comfortable 71-52 decision over the Miners.

USA, now 22-4, will take on unbeaten Olivet (27-0) at noon Saturday for the state championship.

"It feels good," Gainforth added. "This was kind of a breather from (previous tournament games against) Harper Woods and Detroit Community. It was a different style than what we've seen in those two games, so we had to adjust a little bit."

The Patriots weren't spectacular, but satisfactory. USA never trailed in the second half, turning a five-point halftime cushion into a 10-point third-quarter bulge. From there, Negaunee never sliced the gap inside single digits.

It was a much different story from the Patriots two previous games which went down to the final seconds.

"To go along with their quickness and athleticism, they were better basketball players than what we've seen," Russo said. "We've seen teams that have quickness and athletes, but not kids who could finish so well."

Once again, Jordan Bitzer paced the USA attack, tossing in 21 points and hauling down eight rebounds. Lance Travis chipped in 17 points and five boards while Steve Koch added 13 points and six rebounds, and Kyle Richardson 10 points and four assists.

Overall, it was a business-like effort from the Patriots, who didn't need any fourth-quarter magic, just four quarters of solid play.

And that was fine with Gainforth.

"Negaunee is a different team than Harper Woods or Detroit Community," said Gainforth, whose team turned the ball over just six times. "I think our press was the difference in the second half. We had to make a few adjustments."

USA used a late third-quarter spurt to grab a 48-38 advantage heading to the final eight minutes. Travis and Richardson each had four points in the frame to key the run. More importantly, Negaunee's 6-foot-8 center Nathan Parker picked up his fourth foul with 6:37 left in the quarter, and had to sit for most of the period.

"It was tough when he got into foul trouble," said Negaunee's Robert Koskey. "He's a big part of our team, both on offense and defense. He sits in the middle of the zone and intimidates shots and challenges guys in the lane. And on offense, he can work inside and get some easy shots."

Parker did all of his damage in the opening half, scoring eight points. Guarding him was a challenge for Travis, who is listed at 6-3.

"That's the first player I've seen all year over 6-foot-5, so it was tough," Travis said. "Our plan was to go right at him and try to get him into foul trouble. And we did. We just tried to play him tough and keep him off the block. He wasn't too effective outside 10 feet, so we tried to keep him there."

The Patriots extended their lead to 57-43 with 5:13 remaining, thanks to a three-point play from Koch, who, along with Travis, provided USA with 12 of the team's 23 fourth-quarter points.

"I just know that we have to have a post game, too," Koch said. "Our guards have been doing great, but if you don't have a post game  that double threat  you're not going to be as successful."

The Miners got as close as 11 with 2:30 to play, but an offensive rebound putback from Travis with 1:57 left made it 67-52, and all but sealed it.

For Negaunee, Tony Jandron was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, good for 20 points. Koskey, the team's leading scorer during the regular season, knocked in 13.

"We had to be aware of Koskey," Gainforth said. "I thought we did a pretty good job on him. Defensively, our matchups were pretty good, so I think that helped us be successful."

USA led by as many as 10 in the opening quarter, settling for an 18-12 advantage. The Miners rallied and actually took a couple of one-point leads midway through the second quarter. Bitzer, though, sparked a late spurt, scoring the Patriots' final eight points, including a short jumper near the halftime horn to give his team a 36-31 advantage.

"I really didn't think there was a flow to the first half," said Gainforth. "I thought Jordan did a good job in the first half to kind of keep us in the game. In the second half, we kind of picked it up a little bit."